Chris Melendrez, Immediate Past President of the New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association, recently interviewed Leo M. Romero, Professor Emeritus and former Dean, to learn more about the history of diversity in the NM Bar and Romero's involvement in implementing changes at the Law School.

The article was due in part to Romero's acceptance of the 2014 American Bar Association (ABA) Spirit of Excellence Award on Saturday, February 8, 2014, in Chicago, IL. The award celebrates the accomplishments of lawyers who promote a more racially and ethnically diverse legal profession.

Melendrez' article, titled, "Reflections on Critical Steps Toward Diversity in the New Mexico Bar: Leo Romero's Spirit of Excellence" was published in the NMHBA Spring 2014 Newsletter. The article refers to Romero as a role model of diversity. Melendrez states that Romero and Cruz Reynoso were the first minority professors in the Law School's twenty five year history. Together with a student body demanding change, Romero and his colleagues set wheels in motion that had a remarkable impact on diversity in the New Mexico Bar. The article reviews Romero's three key steps: 1) Diversifying the law school; 2) Graduation a diverse law school class; 3) Bringing fairness to the bar exam. It concludes with suggestions for the road ahead.